Caught in the Net: Brazil

The government of Brazil recently imposed a federal ban on a pair of well-known computer games. In a court decision, Judge Carlos Alberto Simoes said that the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike and the popular role-playing game EverQuest contribute to "the subversion of public order" and are "an attack against the democratic state and the law ...

The government of Brazil recently imposed a federal ban on a pair of well-known computer games. In a court decision, Judge Carlos Alberto Simoes said that the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike and the popular role-playing game EverQuest contribute to "the subversion of public order" and are "an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security." But some gamers are crying foul, claiming the government’s real objection, at least against Counter-Strike, is that one version of the game lets players operate as a narcotrafficker in Rio de Janeiro's notoriously dangerous slums. It's one game the government apparently isn't willing to play.

The government of Brazil recently imposed a federal ban on a pair of well-known computer games. In a court decision, Judge Carlos Alberto Simoes said that the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike and the popular role-playing game EverQuest contribute to "the subversion of public order" and are "an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security." But some gamers are crying foul, claiming the government’s real objection, at least against Counter-Strike, is that one version of the game lets players operate as a narcotrafficker in Rio de Janeiro’s notoriously dangerous slums. It’s one game the government apparently isn’t willing to play.

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